Three parents from the Houston area have sued the state of Texas to remove posters with the Ten Commandments from public school classrooms. The lawsuit, filed in state court in Harris County, argues that the state law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in every elementary and secondary school classroom substantially interferes with the parents’ free exercise of religion and their rights to direct their children’s upbringing.

Texas Law and Parental Rights

The lawsuit invokes the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which protects religious practice, and a state constitutional amendment that guarantees parents the right to direct their children’s upbringing. The parents claim that the display of the Ten Commandments in classrooms compels their children to see religious messages that conflict with their families’ religious instruction.

One of the plaintiffs, Emily Roth, whose children attend the Spring Branch Independent School District, said, ‘I never intended to talk to my children this young about the Ten Commandments. It’s not the set of moral absolutes that our family is run on.’ The other plaintiffs, Sanjam Kaur Sohal and Audrey Rosa Nath, also argue that the displays of the Ten Commandments in public schools conflict with their families’ religious beliefs.

State Defense and Previous Challenges

The state has defended the displays as elemental to instruction about U.S. history, rather than religion. Attorney General Ken Paxton said, ‘The Ten Commandments have had a profound impact on our nation, and it’s important that students learn from them every single day.’ The posters have already survived legal challenges in federal court, with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the state law requiring their display did not violate the U.S. Constitution.

Original reporting: Texarkana Gazette — read the source article.